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Earth Day Half-Marathon set for this weekend
The Central Minnesota Heart Center and SCSU are teaming up for the Community Health Expo and Third Annual Earth Day Half-Marathon Friday and Saturday, promoting wellness for both the earth and its inhabitants.
"Central Minnesota has been an awesome sponsor, they have been here since the beginning of the event," said event director Chris Haukos.� "They wanted to be involved in a healthy home grown event.�The race fits perfect with their mission."
According to Haukos, there is going to be a variety of activities available for students and families in the community. People can pick up their race packets at 2 p.m., Friday, in the Halenbeck Fieldhouse. The fun lasts until 10 p.m.
"We already have over 1,000 participants registered so we are hoping for a turnout of 1,500," Haukos said.
At the Expo there will be over 25 vendors or informational booths, as well as musical performers including Meghan McGuire at 4:30 p.m. doing country covers, South Jr. High String Quintet at 5:15 pm, and folk singer Lisa Thompson at 5:30 p.m. There will also be three door prize drawings and a speaker series.
"Troy Shafer from Health Services will be speaking at 4:30," Haukos said. "If you are stressed out and want to pick up great tips and activities to relieve stress throughout the day you should stop and see him."
Another speaker featured is Nikken Wellness Consultant Mary Dingmann who will be discussing ways to increase your energy and flexibility.
There will also be a Kids Corner where children can discover the Earth Center and its four corners: Carnival, Creature, Culture and Creative.
At 6 p.m. the 1k Junior run/walk will begin, followed by the 5k run/walk at 6:30 p.m. O'Hara's Brew Pub and Restaurant will be sponsoring an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner. The awards ceremony for both runs is at 8 pm.
On Saturday the Half Marathon will begin at 9 a.m. One of the new runners this year is Mary Shrode who is employed at the James W. Miller Learning Resources Center.
"I've done 5k runs before, so I thought I would give it a try," Shrode said.
The Awards Ceremony for the Half Marathon is at 1 pm. The award for the Open is $500 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place. For runners 40 years old or older is the Master award of $200.
Those not yet registered for the Half Marathon, can register until 10 p.m. Friday in the Halenbeck Fieldhouse.
Kristen J. Kubisiak can be reached at: [email protected]
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